Little Black Dress

There are some fashion pieces de resistance which shouldn’t be missing from anyone’s wardrobe, and the little black dress is one of them.

As everybody knows, the little black dress is usually an elegant black dress of a simple yet chic design, which most usually is an evening or a cocktail dress, a dress appropriate to be worn in many different occasions. Most of the times, it’s short, knee-long, or under-knee-long. It can be styled up or down, depending on the occasion, and depending if said occasion is during day or evening. For instance, it can be worn with a blazer or a jacket for a day occasion, like work, or a job interview; but it also can be worn with prominent jewelry, pearls or other accessories for an evening occasion like a party, going out to a restaurant, and so on.

Historically, it goes back to Coco Chanel, and lasted throughout decades ever since. Coco Chanel invented the little black dress as a must have universal garment in any woman’s wardrobe. It was designed to be suitable and affordable for any woman, regardless her social class, educational background or financial means. It was also considered to be of a simple design, so it can be worn for years instead of one single fashion season. Being part of a specific trend would mean for the little black dress to go out of style as soon as that trend would go away; so instead, it was supposed to be kept as simple as possible, in order for it to be “in” for the next and next fashion seasons to come. And so, the little black dress survived decades and decades after its creator was gone, and today, just like almost one hundred years ago, it is still a must have in any woman’s wardrobe.

Nowadays, the little black dress is more than a piece of garment, it’s a concept. It is also called the LBD. Since it was created in 1926 by Coco Chanel, it inspired other fashion designers, beauty creators, artists. The most memorable little black dress in history is the one designed by Hubert de Givenchy and worn by Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). In 2001 the little black dress concept inspired Avon Cosmetics to create a new elegant fragrance called Little Black Dress, a fragrance that won the Fragrance Foundation Award in 2002.

The Little Black Dress is not missing from my wardrobe either. I bought it 5 years ago, I love it and I still can wear it without it getting outdated or me getting bored of it. I wore it to such occasions like weddings, christening parties, Valentine's parties and other glam gatherings, and I am ready to wear it again. Each time, I like to accessorize it differently, for a new and fresh look. It actually saved me last time when I wore it, at the said christening party. I was considering to wear another garment for that occasion, but I didn't really like how it fit me, so in the last minute I made up my mind for my precious little black dress.

Since then, I also bought two other black dresses which I most certainly could call little black dresses, but which are of a more casual design than my first one.